#Ask1Plify – Do you know the country that offers the best university eduation

Welcome to another edition of #Ask1Plify. Over the course of the week, we had questions from prospective students seeking admission abroad. Many of them wanted to know their chances of getting into a good school with the grades they came out with in WAEC. That was one of the questions we dealt with last Friday. It was great to be of help to these set of people.

Today, we want to talk about one question that has come up constantly over the last few weeks; which country gives the best value for money when it comes to studying abroad. This question got us thinking as some people wanted us to tell them the country that has the best university to attend. For others, they are having difficulties with choosing whether to study in the US or in the UK.

This is what you should know about choosing a country to further your education in:

The best universities are not limited to one country
Just as America has one of the best universities, it also has some sub-par universities. The same is true for any country in the world. There are good universities in France, Dubai and India. There are also bad universities in these countries. As we have always said, the key is to find the university that suits all your requirements.

The best generally might not be the best for you
This is another point we’ve tried to make consistently in dealing with questions from prospective students. The fact that Harvard is one of the best universities in the world does not mean that it would be the best option for you. There are other factors to consider. For example, if you want to study an IT related course there are other universities that will give you greater value for money than Harvard.

Adaptability is key
Depending on the course you are going for, you are going to spend at least one year in that country. You therefore have to make sure that you choose a country where you can easily adapt. The UK and US are favourite destinations because they are easy countries to adapt to. Also the official language is English so there won’t be language barriers to overcome. This is not to say that you can’t study in a country that doesn’t have English as its official language, for example, France. All we are saying is bear this and other factors in mind before you choose a particular country.

Student and race friendly
Some countries are more accommodating of other races than others. That is the plain truth. Don’t study in a country where you will face undue discrimination. It can affect your studies. Also be aware of the fact that some cities are more student friendly than others. Student friendly cities are easier to live in because transportation is usually cheap and you can get great discounts on shopping.

How expensive is it?
This is a fact that a lot of students don’t bear in mind. They think all they need to worry about is paying their tuition fees. This is far from reality. Be mindful of how expensive the country or city is. This will have an impact on how much you spend on transport, groceries, shopping and even accommodation. So it is a very big deal. If you want to study in London for example, you have to be prepared to spend extra and put this in your budget because London is an expensive city.

If you have more questions about university and studying abroad we would love to answer them. You can send them to us by email – hello@1plify.com or post them on our Facebook page – www.facebook.com/1plify . You can also tweet at us – @1plify